Good with His Hands(2)

Hellooo-standing right here. But antagonizing clients was unwise for  someone who worked on commission, so Dani kept her thoughts to herself.  Giving the Parkers a moment of privacy, she meandered to the bay window  and studied the pine trees and dogwoods dotting the generously sized  yard.

Behind her, Mrs. Parker giggled. "We're going to check out that master  bedroom one more time, just for a second. I want another look at...the  closet space."

Yeah.

"Feel free," Dani said with a tight smile. The previous inhabitants had  already moved out, so at least she didn't have to worry about the  frisky newlyweds hitting someone else's mattress. She figured they just  wanted to steal a heated kiss or two.                       
       
           



       

Meanwhile, she tried not to feel bitter or envious; her neglected  libido had been making itself known lately. She wasn't usually one for  casual sex, but how was it fair that she-who'd been faithful to a  fault-was going without while the cheating scumbag who'd replaced her  with someone who "makes a man feel needed" was getting busy with his new  bride? Excuse the hell out of me for being able to open a pickle jar  without assistance.

When Tate originally called off the wedding, it had been difficult not  to hope he met with some freak accident-like an anvil falling on his  head. But she'd told herself to be adult about the situation. Wasn't it  better that he ended things before the wedding instead of deciding  afterward that they'd made a mistake? So instead of wishing him dead,  she'd merely hoped that the next house he bought had termites and mold  in the walls.

What she hadn't yet known was that getting dumped was only half the  story. Earlier this week, he'd asked her to dinner. Since she had a box  of his belongings to give back to him, she'd agreed. The diamond  solitaire engagement ring was not among the returns. She'd hocked that  to help cover nonrefundable wedding expenses she and her dad had  incurred.

When Tate had broken up with her from the safe distance of Europe, he'd  mentioned that "someone else" had helped him realize he didn't fully  love his fiancée. But Dani hadn't expected that faceless someone to  return to Georgia with him. As she'd learned during their strained  dinner together, Tate and Ella had eloped last Saturday-exactly one week  before he'd been scheduled to marry Dani.

"You deserved to hear it from me, in person, before we begin announcing  it to family and friends." He'd adopted an expression of such  condescending concern that she'd been tempted to punch him in the face.  "I know this must be very hard on you."

"Not so much." She'd risen from her chair, abandoning a perfectly yummy shrimp carbonara. "Ella is welcome to you."

Truthfully, after six months of living on separate continents, Dani  didn't miss him as much as she would have expected. She was almost as  ticked off about the months of one-sided celibacy as she was about his  defection. She'd always found serenity through physical outlets. Right  now, frustrated and wanting to reclaim some feminine pride, she could  really use a long night of sweaty, athletic-

"Danica? I think we're done inside the house." The lanky man and his  auburn-haired bride had returned. "If you'll walk us through the yard  and the garage, that should do it. Annette and I need some time alone to  talk over everything we've seen today."

"Of course. Right this way." She opened the back door, leading them out  onto a narrow deck. "The deck was added on, but the owners hired a  professional to build it."

She often warned clients to be careful of homes full of DIY projects;  not all of them held up well over time. Sometimes, amateur wiring jobs  went up in flames. Substandard roofing collapsed. Kind of like her love  life.

* * *

THE CELL PHONE vibrated in the dashboard cup holder. Dani groaned.  Another pitying relative or acquaintance? But then she glimpsed the  picture of her best friend, Meg Rafferty, on the screen. Under different  circumstances, both women would have been en route to the famous Swan  House right now for a rehearsal dinner. Afterward, there was supposed to  have been a bachelorette party hosted in the lingerie store Meg  co-owned.

Using the phone's earpiece, Dani answered. "Hello."

"It's officially after five o'clock," Meg said. "A socially accepted time for booze. Want to meet somewhere for drinks?"

It was a Friday night. If they went out, would they be surrounded by  couples on dates? Showing that last house to the Parkers had been all  the exposure to couples Dani could stand. A girls' night in was a  possibility, but Meg had recently moved in with her current boyfriend.  Which leaves my place. When her last lease ran out and she hadn't been  able to negotiate anything shorter than six months, she'd moved into a  tiny, unimpressive apartment. She wasn't supposed to have been there  this long. The plan had been for her and Tate to house hunt when he  returned from Europe. Meg knew how much Dani disliked the "temporary"  apartment. Every time she came over, she vacillated between sympathy and  outrage on her friend's behalf.

"Thanks for the offer," Dani said, "but I'm way behind on paperwork. I  want to use the free evening to catch up." Liar. She sighed. "Actually,  what I really want is to get laid."                       
       
           



       

There was a startled pause, followed by a snicker. "I can't help you there."

"Don't worry. You aren't who I had in mind."

"Wait, there's someone specific? Why have I not heard about him?"

"No, no one specific. I just meant..." Yet she couldn't help  envisioning Hot Architect. This morning, they'd passed again in the hall  and she'd made a comically exaggerated show of watching where she was  going so as not to bump anyone. Amusement had twinkled in his pale blue  eyes, and his lips had twitched. She'd almost rated a grin.

"Sorry, I didn't catch the end of that sentence. Did you lose your  train of thought or are you going through a tunnel? Or," Meg added  knowingly, "did you suddenly remember that you suck at lying? Out with  it! Who is this mystery man who has you hot and bothered?"

"You remember that time you picked me up at the office for lunch and  Judy was rhapsodizing about the architect who works down the hall?"

"Bryce Grayson?"

Dani smacked her hand against the steering wheel. "Bryce, yes! I knew it started with a B. Thank you."

"I've caught glimpses of him." Meg gave a low whistle. "Nice. I mean, I only have eyes for Nolan, of course, but...damn."

"Exactly. I worked hard not to notice him while I was with Tate, but  now I am a free woman." A free woman with a healthy sex drive.

Bryce was going to smile at her soon, and the natural next step would be conversation. With any luck, they wouldn't stop there.





      2

SEAN GRAYSON WINKED conspiratorially at the perky woman in yoga pants.  Between the cartoon character on her T-shirt and her braided pigtails,  she looked more like a teenager than his twin brother's secretary. "I  really appreciate your taking time out of your Saturday to let me in."

She shrugged. "This is on my way to the gym. Just promise to lock up  when you leave or Bryce will have my head on a platter. I'd better  scoot, or I'll be late for Zumba." Pausing in the doorway, she asked  over her shoulder, "You know what would be hilarious? If Bryce had the  same idea and he's secretly at your office right now, setting up a  surprise for Monday."

Bitterness stabbed at Sean, an unpleasant sensation somewhere between  loss and anger. Alone in the spacious offices of Bertram Design  Associates, he tried to imagine stepping into the trailer on his current  job site and finding it filled with balloons and streamers. Never in a  million years. He and Bryce might be identical twins, but these days,  they had little in common besides looks and a shared birthday.

Bryce, older by nine minutes, had always been more studious, diligently  making A-honor roll and graduating high school as valedictorian. Sean  had excelled in different areas, like industrial arts and varsity  football...and making time with the varsity cheerleaders. Despite  different interests, the two brothers had encouraged each other. They'd  been close. Then Bryce had been awarded a major scholarship to a college  out of state.

Sean stayed behind, working for their dad's roofing company and pooling  his money with his parents' to afford a trade school degree, eventually  working his way up to supervising construction crews. When their dad  suffered a heart attack-minor, but alarming-Bryce had been too busy with  finals to come home. There were holiday breaks and summers when Bryce  chose plans with his frat brothers or staying on campus for intern  opportunities over visiting his family. After graduation, he'd returned  to Georgia, but he'd been different. He was more polished and educated  than anyone else in the family, and he never let Sean forget it.